LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Copper was softer on Thursday as traders fretted about further signs of U.S. economic weakness, but prices were buttressed by expectations of higher demand from top consumer China.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was trading at $8,960 a tonne at 1010 GMT from $9,045 a tonne at the close on Wednesday.
The metal used widely in power and construction slid to near $8,500 a tonne last month on fears of dwindling consumption.
Traders were looking ahead to a weekly jobs report from the United States, a key gauge of economic health.
Imports of copper by China, which accounts for about 40 percent of global copper consumption, may have risen in May and higher levels are expected over coming months.
"Base metal prices and especially copper will be supported by Chinese import data, which should be better given the sharp destocking over the last couple of weeks in Shanghai," said Daniel Briesemann, analyst at Commerzbank.
Some analysts however say the expected revival of copper shipments may not come through in the May data and that the June numbers were the ones to watch.
Behind predictions of higher imports are copper stocks in Shanghai bonded warehouses which are said to have fallen by about 200,000 tonnes from April to between 350,000 and 500,000 tonnes now.
"It looks like China is going to need more copper very soon, those stocks will need to be replenished," a LME trader said.
UPSIDE RISK
Firmer copper prices in China are also expected to help.
"Prices have held up better in China over the last couple of weeks, than in London... There will be more favourable arbitrage opportunities," Briesemann said, adding the generally weak dollar was also a factor.
A lower U.S. currency makes commodities priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies.
However, stocks of copper in LME warehouses are still rising, at a one-year high of 477,850 tonnes, and casting a pall over the market.
"Copper is back to $9,000 as macroeconomic concerns continued to linger," Credit Suisse Private Banking said in a note. "We expect the current soft patch in activity to be temporary and anticipate growth momentum to pick up again moving into the third quarter.
"Copper mine supply remains an upside risk factor as global expansion is struggling to keep pace with demand and ore grades at major existing mines are falling."
Three-month aluminium was trading at $2,657 a tonne from $2,668 at Wednesday's close, zinc at $2,274 from $2,293 and nickel at $22,640 from $22,705 and tin at $25,775 from $25,695.
Lead was at $2,560 from $2,577 on Wednesday, when the battery material hit a seven-week high of $2,585.50 a tonne on supply constraints and solid demand.
Metal Prices at 1011 GMT Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T Metal Last Change Percent Move End 2010 Ytd Percent
move COMEX Cu 406.10 -4.75 -1.16 444.70 -8.68 LME Alum 2668.00 0.00 +0.00 2470.00 8.02 LME Cu 9030.00 -15.00 -0.17 9600.00 -5.94 LME Lead 2577.00 0.00 +0.00 2550.00 1.06 LME Nickel 22705.00 0.00 +0.00 24750.00 -8.26 LME Tin 25690.00 -5.00 -0.02 26900.00 -4.50 LME Zinc 2292.00 -1.00 -0.04 2454.00 -6.60 SHFE Alu 17140.00 -5.00 -0.03 16840.00 1.78 SHFE Cu* 67370.00 -130.00 -0.19 71850.00 -6.24 SHFE Zin 17360.00 5.00 +0.03 19475.00 -10.86 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07 (Editing by James Jukwey)
